Chinascope – Page 697

China Will Loan US$10 Billion to Venezuela

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that Petroleum of Venezuela (PDVSA) announced that China will provide Venezuela with a new loan of around US$10 billion. Half of the loan will be under the China- Venezuela Joint Fund, which will fund various investment plans in multiple fields. This portion of the loan will have a repayment period that will extend from three years to five years. The other half of the loan, with a 10-year repayment period, will be used to hire Chinese companies to help improve oil field development. After the announcement, Venezuela saw a jump in its national bond prices. So far China has provided Venezuela a total of US$45 billion in loans in exchange for low-price oil and other fuels. Most of these loans have been deposited into Venezuela’s infrastructure and economic development funds.

Source: Sina, March 20, 201

http://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/usstock/c/20150320/105821767845.shtml

Briefings | | March 24, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

BBC Chinese: China Has Become the Third Largest Arms Exporter

BBC Chinese recently reported on the results of research data that the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released. According to SIPRI, between 2010 and 2014, China surpassed Germany, France, and Great Britain in the international arms market to become the world’s third largest arms exporter. China’s current share of the world arms market is five percent. Two thirds of its exports were to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. China’s customers also included 18 African countries. During the five-year period from 2010 to 2014, the Chinese arms export volume increased by 143 percent, compared to the previous five-year period. In the meantime, Germany’s exports saw a decrease of 43 percent, while France decreased by 27 percent. The United States remains the largest arms exporter and Russia remains the second largest, holding 31 percent and 27 percent of the world market, respectively.

Source: BBC Chinese, March 16, 2015

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2015/03/150316_china_arms_export

Briefings | | March 24, 2015 | Defense/Military

RFA: Divorce, Restoration of Marriage and Buying House, a Phenomenon with Chinese Characteristics

Radio Free Asia carried an article commenting on the latest news about divorce, restoration of marriage, and buying a house, an interesting phenomenon that has been taking place in China in recent years. The article said that the Chinese media published news articles on March 20 that stated that the rate of restored marriages in China has grown in recent years. The majority were couples who had filed for divorce in 2013 because of the benefit of gain in their property taxes. According to the article, in 2014, the marriage restoration rate in Shanghai went up by 18 percent compared to 2013 and reached a record high. The article said that back in 2013, the central government introduced a set of rules in order to curb the overheated housing market. One of those was a 20 percent tax imposed on the gain from the sale of a property. The exception to the rule was where the couple owned two housing properties. If they filed for divorce, they would gain (separate) ownership of one of the properties and the 20 percent property tax on the gain would be exempt. Following the introduction of this rule, a number of major official media reported that, in large cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, people had to wait in line to file for divorce. In an interview with Radio Free Asia, a real estate lawyer in China denied that the marriage restoration rate had anything to do with the housing policy, while another person who is a U.S. resident told Radio Free Asia that this type of phenomenon may appear to be inconceivable to the people who have lived in the US for a long period of time but it is in fact a social phenomenon which resulted from the fast economic development that took place in China.

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 20, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/cyl-03202015120222.html

Briefings | | March 23, 2015 | Social Stability

Chinese Airports Have the Worst On-Time Departure Records

China Economic Times reported that, according to South China Morning Post, among 61 major airports in the world, all of the seven worst on-time departure performance airports are in China. Hong Qiao and Pudong Airport in Shanghai and Xiaoshan Airport in Hang Zhou are the bottom three on the list with on-time departure rates of 37.17, 37.26 and 37.74 percent respectively. Other airports that have the worst records include Baoan Airport in Shen Zhen, Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, Chongqing Airport, and Beijing Capital International Airport. China Economic Times quoted comments from an aviation expert who stated that China is behind in airport management where airport networks are centralized in small regions. Since most airlines routes are between Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangzhou region, any minor error in one area will affect the airline performances in other regions.

Source: China Economic Times, March 22, 2015
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/201503/22/t20150322_4894111.shtml

Briefings | | March 23, 2015 | Information/Technology

China Internet Information Center: US Feels a Sense of Helplessness about AIIB

China Internet Information Center published a rebuttal against an article published in the New York Times on March 20 titled, “Hostility From U.S. as China Lures Allies to New Bank.” The rebuttal said that since March 12, more European countries have signed up to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank or AIIB, putting the U.S. in a very awkward position. The rebuttal questioned why the New York Times needs to be concerned. It stated that the reason China has attracted most countries to welcome the AIIB is that China has had strong economic growth. Even countries such as the UK look to China as its savior due to its own economic crisis. “The U.S. shouldn’t make its own values the absolute truth while discounting others. This type of mentality will affect its own growth.” The article continued that China has no intention of challenging the U.S. The strong opposition from the New York Times shows that the U.S. has a sense of helplessness.

Source: China Internet Information Center, March 25, 2015
http://opinion.china.com.cn/opinion_25_125025.html

New York Times, Hostility From U.S. as China Lures Allies to New Bank, March 19, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/world/asia/hostility-from-us-as-china-lures-allies-to-new-bank.html?_r=0

Briefings | | March 23, 2015 | US-China Relations

The New U.S. Maritime Strategy Shows Its Two-Faced Nature towards China

People’s Daily Overseas Edition published an article commenting on the new U.S. maritime strategy that the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard jointly issued on March 13, titled, "A Cooperative Strategy for the 21st Century Sea power: Forward, Engaged, Ready." This is the first revision of the 2007 edition of its maritime strategy in nearly eight years.

The article said, “The new U.S. maritime strategy listed China, together with such countries as Russia, Iran, and North Korea, as its security challenges or threats. It significantly strengthened its attention to and vigilance toward China.”

The article said that the new strategy made groundless accusations against China’s legitimate actions of safeguarding its maritime rights and interests and it slandered China for using force or for intimidating other countries while maintaining its sovereignty. The article also stated, “Although the new strategy didn’t specifically name China, the U.S. media made it clear that China is one of the target countries in its ‘all domain access’ combat operation.”

The article further commented, “Looking at the new U.S. maritime strategy, between the lines, it is full of a Cold War mentality. First, the U.S. military continues to regard China as a potential military adversary, continues to develop combat capability against China, continues to strengthen its military deployment around China, and continues to strengthen its military alliances that were established during the Cold War with Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and other countries. [The new strategy] turns a blind eye to China’s efforts – to its restraint in recent years when dealing with maritime disputes with its neighboring countries. It continues its efforts to use these maritime disputes to contain China’s development. Second, the U.S. military’s ‘all domain access’ concept of combat operations is to develop the U.S. military’s combat capability of free access to other country’s sea shores and even inland. This is undoubtedly hegemonic and tyrannous thinking.”

Source: People’s Daily, March 16, 2015

http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2015-03/16/content_1542885.htm

Briefings | | March 20, 2015 | US-China Relations

Qiushi: China’s Domestic Use of Soft Power

Qiushi reported that China has been innovative in transforming Western soft power into Chinese cultural soft power to achieve domestic objectives. The United States uses soft power as a means to promote hegemony. China has adopted soft power as an approach to enhance its comprehensive national power and international influence. “Domestically, [the soft power is used] to strengthen the development of socialist core values, to promote Chinese traditional culture, and to cultivate noble morals and enhance the cohesion of the Party, military and the people across the country. Internationally, [soft power is used] to disseminate China’s position and voice, to establish a good international image, to create a favorable international environment, and to promote the development of a peaceful, harmonious, and cooperative world.”

The use of soft power domestically has more extensive strategic objectives than internationally, to “unify people’s minds and hearts” and to “advocate patriotism.”

Source: Qiushi, March 16, 2015

http://www.qstheory.cn/politics/2015-03/16/c_1114648345.htm

Briefings | | March 20, 2015 | Government/Politics

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.